The equipment used for cutting and mixing of fibrous product in preparation of animal feeds, typically includes a hopper. In this hopper there is various equipment installed such as types of cutting mechanisms and augers are for cutting and mixing of fibrous products such as dry hay, silage, straw and alfalfa, which are loaded into the top of the hopper.
Equipment for cutting and mixing of fibrous product used in preparation of animal feed most often employs augers which are positioned either horizontally or vertically within the hopper. After the fibrous product is sufficiently cut and mixed by the auger mechanism, it is discharged out of a door.
The equipment having horizontal augers have a smaller height and width then the equipment having vertical augers. However, using the equipment having horizontal augers is practical only for limited production runs or in places where there is a limited space.
Prior art horizontal cutting and mixing equipment contain a plurality of augers. For example, one or two augers may be located on the bottom of the hopper and two or three augers may be located above these. The augers operate cooperatively to cut and mix the product in such a manner as to compress and release the product so it does not stagnate.
Prior art equipment made with several augers arranged either side by side or one over another one, are very expensive to build and to operate, and requires complicated transmission systems connected with the augers and the drive shaft.
Moreover, the known equipment fabricated with several augers, does not satisfactorily perform the mix and cut of the fibrous product. Within the hopper, there are dead spots where material stagnates and this is not cut or mixed. The known types of equipment which utilize several vertical augers, have larger dimensions than the horizontal auger equipment and therefore are more difficult to operate inexpensively.
Thus, a need exists to avoid the prior art difficulties of the known equipment. The present invention is extremely functional and can be built inexpensively and in smaller sizes. However, the present invention, although employing a single, horizontally positioned auger, can operate for unlimited production runs.